the alternative theater arts scene in MNL

Theater House of Black, in cooperation with The Philippine Mental Health Association and the Power Mac Center Spotlight, opens its theater season with its maiden production this coming October with a material devised by Carlos Palanca winner, Jay Crisostomo IV and CK Bautista, #14 LEANDRO ROAD. It’s a Filipino adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall Of The House Of Usher” which is set on the dark chilly outskirts of the Mountain Province.

#14 LEANDRO ROAD is a horror story, which blurs the line between the real world and the supernatural. It follows Ed/Edna Ramos, a real estate agent, who is invited by Rudy/Pilar Laperal, a grade school friend she hasn’t seen for almost 20 years, to come and visit the latter’s house. As soon as Ed/Edna arrives, he/she finds out that Rudy/Pilar lives with two other people: his/her ill brother/sister and the family doctor, Dra. Lita Dumas. As the days go by, the house guest finds out that both siblings are suffering from a mental illness. At the same time, both are keeping a secret that has been buried all these years.

The production staff also features skillful talents with Diego Melad as Technical Director, Bambi Bucao as Lights Design and Direction, Vincent Lim does the Music Design, Alex Congbalay on Set Design, and the Closet, Nica Santos and Sophia Pre do Costume Designs and Prosthetics respectively. Stage management by Nicole Herrera and Justin Ellamil, and John Carlo Salud manages the production.

Catch the thrilling staging of #14 LEANDRO STREET by The Theater House of Black this October!

In 1518, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote LA MANDRAGOLA, a satirical comedy set in the early 16th century. In 2006, Jerry Respeto translated and adapted LA MANDRAGOLA into ANG BIRHENG MATIMTIMAN, a play set in 1901, shortly after the Philippine-American War.

ANG BIRHENG MATIMTIMAN harks to the Tagalog adage: “Walang matimtimang birhen sa matiyagang manalangin,” and in the rural town of Laguna de Bai, where Catholic rituals and traditions have become part of the daily life, and Spanish friars remain at large, Clarita Matimtiman’s story takes centre stage as she comes into contact with a corrupt friar, a wily trickster, a dutiful but dim-witted servant, devotees of the Virgin Mary, and a wealthy bohemian, in this quiet city, a story of frailocracy, hypocrisy, and infidelity unfolds.

This is the fourth and final play of the Ateneo ENTABLADO’s (ENtertaynment para sa Tao, Bayan, LAnsangan at DiyOs) 33rd season: “Makita Kang Sakdal Laya”, a season centred on an advocacy of good governance and engaged citizenship.

ANG BIRHENG MATIMTIMAN runs on March 1 to 5, and 8 to 12 at 7:00 p.m.; and on March 5 and 12 at 2:00 p.m. at the Rizal Mini Theatre, Faber Hall, Ateneo de Manila University. For tickets and inquiries, reach us at facebook.com/ateneo.entablado, or contact Mich Pama at 0917 701 1753.

Teatro Kaligatan Foundation, Incorporated brings back to the stage one of 2015’s top plays – PERATEDES, Victorio Concepcion’s Filipino adaptation of Spanish dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca’s play THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA.

PERATEDES plays at the AFP Theater Function Hall, AFP Theater, Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on the first two weekends of March – specifically, March 5, 6, 12 and 13 with shows at 2PM and 6PM on all dates.

In its Filipino adaptation, “Peratedes,” the prodigal son of the family Peratedes, an upper-middle-class family, Erik, returns for the wake of his youngest brother, Alfredo. The death, in which, he was responsible for as blamed by Dolores, the matriarch of their family. Due to the hate and resentment of the family, he runs away from home and tries to leave behind the people that he once called family. Over time, the absence of the youngest son becomes the strong force that pulls the family secrets into the open. And one by one, the family begins to realize how difficult it is to understand what a family should do and what each of them have to contribute to their own sufferings.

It has been over two years since the destructive Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), killed thousands and displaced millions of people in Eastern and Western Visayas, particularly in Samar and Leyte provinces, still not enough support has been given to the thousands of victims in the region. True to its commitment to create plays and performances drawn from the direct experiences of the people, youth cultural group Sining na Naglilingkod sa Bayan (Sinagbayan or Art for the People) will stage DALUYONG: ISANG PAHINUMDOM once again at the Ma. PS de Leon Park in PUP Sta. Mesa from February 22 to March 5.

“The people of Eastern Visayas are hapless victims of a vicious government that has no regard nor concern at all for ordinary people,” says Marco Silvano, chairperson of Sinagbayan.

DALUYONG retells the story of the people’s fight against the savageness of Yolanda. Based on research and personal accounts of Tacloban and Palo residents, this play chronicles community resiliency.

DALUYONG is about Rolando, an OFW from Saudi, who comes home to Dinaanan to convince his father Frank to leave their town and come with him to Manila. Dinaanan is just one of the many towns devastated by the typhoon. After two years, residents are not yet able to rise from their loss and they still have a hardtime providing for themselves and their families. Frank is one of the most respectable leaders in the town of Dinaanan and his decision to stay with the people have helped his kababaryo a lot. After all, it is just the townspeople who are helping each other to recover. For Frank and the other farmers like Pedring, Pepeng, Pablo and Nitang, promises and false claims were made by politicians but up until this day, these politicians failed to fulfill them.

Rolando does understand his father’s decision at first but staying in Dinaanan has made him witness his kababayans and childhood friends’ situation. The surge of the disaster is what makes the people rise and intensify the surge of the furious masses. This is the same surge that is starting to grow inside Rolando, when he saw the correctness of his father’s decision to stay in Dinaanan.

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DALUYONG was already successfully staged at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines; University of the Philippines-Diliman and in the communities of Tanauan and Tacloban City in Leyte. The production is jointly organized by the SINAGBAYAN (Art for the People), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines-KMP), Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) and Anakpawis Partylist.

Sinagbayan, a cultural group primarily focused in depicting the situation of farmers and rural poor through creative media including theater plays, songs and dance performances, holds accountable the Aquino administration for the turtle-paced recovery in Yolanda-devastated areas and the lingering poverty and hunger endured disaster victims and survivors.

“The government’s utter neglect of the people’s welfare is an even more disastrous calamity than all super typhoons combined. DALUYONG is our continous cry for justice for all the victims of state neglect, at the same time it is our challenge for the next administration” Silvano added.

DALUYONG’s showdates are on February 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, March 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 (6:30PM) at the Ma. PS de Leon Park in PUP Sta. Mesa. Tickets are at P50. For more info, contact Kathryn Manga at 0908 298 9691, or email Sinagbayan at sinagbayan@yahoo.com

One night in a desert where the moon is in full, a new born baby swallows the heart of a banana tree. Time passes and the baby grows up with the help of a dog, a cat and a wild boar who stands as her mother. Away from the city, the girl lives happily until she encounters a man that will change her life, introducing her to both love and pain. In a situation where there are dirty secrets everywhere, will love overcome pain?

ANG UNANG ASWANG is a story of love, failure, abuse and pretension. This play will leave you questions of who is really bad, and what is the basis of good. From the era of the Spanish occupation in the Philippines, this is a story that mirrors the culture of the Philippines and it has been passed on from generation to generation.

With a mission to inspire, connect and uplift the community’s spirit toward arts and culture, PUP Sining-Lahi Polyrepertory, is proud to bring to the stage Mr. Rody Vera’s UNANG ASWANG. Sining-Lahi Polyrepertory has been serving the Polytechnic University of the Philippines for more than three decades now. As the Resident Student Theater group of the university, SLP was proven to stage quality theatre productions that made them bag various awards from different competitions outside the university. The director, Roland Legaspi, especially picked this script because of its unique story and the lines that are sure to stab every heart in the audience, taking its viewers on a journey to determine who is truly good and evil.

Know more about Rody Vera’s ANG UNANG ASWANG directed by Roland Legaspi and produced by Rommel Iquin, as it serves as their 2nd major Production on their 35th Theater Season, “Breaking Boundaries”.

THE FIRST time National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera acted in a play was in school, when he was a boy. He has never done it again for more than 70 years – until now.

And the play is one close to his heart: a disturbing drama that connects the Marcos dictatorship and the current times. Dr. Lumbera was a political detainee during martial law.

The play HINDI NA MULI (Never Again) takes us back to the historic three months of the turbulent 1970s, now remembered as the First Quarter Storm of 1970 and on to the martial law years — and 2016. The play boldly examines the so-called Marcos legacy in connection with vice-presidential bid of the late dictator’s son and namesake.

HINDI NA MULI is twin billed with SANLIBONGAN (Sanctuary), a timely portrayal of the plight of the Lumad Filipino. It sheds light on the roots of the current conflict in the south that has made victims of our indigenous brothers and sisters. The play poignantly relives the tragedy and hopes of three women members of the tribes Mandaya, Manobo, and Bagobo as they impact on their communities.

The two short plays comprise the production of INANG LUPA, INANG BAYAN by the Tag-ani Performing Arts Society. Running in March, which is International Women’s Month, the production’s leitmotif is – you guess it – the image of “the woman engaged in the making of history.”

Tag-ani’s INANG LUPA, INANG BAYAN is an affirmation of our right to the land of our birth, which is both lupa, as in ancestral domain and patrimony, and bayan, as in country. In this production, Tag-ani ties the knot binding two seemingly disconnected works into one theater experience.

Aside from the venerable national artist, popular impressionist Wille Nepomuceno takes on a part, with a cast of professional actors and student talents.

Multi-awarded artists compose the artistic pool for INANG LUPA, INANG BAYAN. Music for SANLIBONGAN shall be performed live by the acclaimed Kontra-GaPi of the University of the Philippines. Lucien Letaba provides the score for HINDI NA MULI. Indigenous artist and scholar Carlito Camahalan Amalla is choreographer. Katsch Catoy, formerly deputy director of the CCP theater operations department and theater director of the University of the East, is lighting director.

Overall director and playwright is Bonifacio P. Ilagan, a multi-awarded scriptwriter and director who was conferred the Philippines Centennial Honors for the Arts by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1998. Karen Gaerlan co-directs.

Shows run on March 14 to 17 (7PM), at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon Avenue, Quezon City; and on March 19 (10 AM, 2 PM, 6 PM), at the Bulwagang Tandang Sora in the College of Social Work and Community Development, UP Diliman. You can reserve tickets here http://tinyurl.com/ILIBtickets or contact 09054088416 / 09328843432.

February’s National Arts Month features a barrage of diverse upcoming attractions from theater groups, with aims of rocking local authorities while connecting young Filipino artists. These also stand as a testament to the artists’ collaborations in showcasing their talents and passions with an art that reflects the lives of ordinary Filipinos. But in the face of the upcoming elections, these plays tend to expose a New Age of social hypocrisy, ruled by old and new oppressive forces that will still rule it even after May 2016.

GAPOK by Tanghalang Mulong Sandoval is a melodramatic struggle against corporations and state officials using demolitions to get rid of the urban poor. With a strong set of actors, GAPOK reflects the reality of inhumane demolitions and evictions still in operation around the Metro. Meanwhile, Ateneo Entablado dazzles with an adaptation of ROMULUS D’ GRAYT whose titular selfish emperor in the face of his falling empire seems too familiar for a Filipino audience. From Ateneo to UP, and from state politics to the Church, The UP Repertory Company restages its controversial KARITAS AT DAMASO for Fringe Manila 2016. A musical farce brimming with irreverent dialogue and risqué high-NRG musical numbers, it’s enough to electrify any religious fanatic. In the same humorously sharp way, Yugto Theater Ensemble slaps the local elections with the game show comedy-musical OPEN THE DOOR. Lastly, two new theater groups combine the efforts of artists to create new material for Fringe Manila 2016 – Project Mayheim Productions’ WE CHOOSE TO GOT TO THE MOON is a collaboration artists from different groups, tackling issues of human behavior in the internet. Meanwhile EraGascon’s series of HAMPASAN Open Jams is an event for artists to showcase their works, allowing them to enjoy different art spaces in the Metro, while also standing as a fundraiser for their upcoming Fringe production.

The UP Repertory Company (UP REP), UP Diliman’s official University Performing Group for Philippine Theatre, proudly brings back one of its most outrageous, most shocking and most controversial play for Fringe Manila Arts Festival: KARITAS AT DAMASO.

Written by UP Diliman’s U Z Eliserio and directed by UP REP alumnus, Dax Carnay, the production also features an all critical, all daring, all UP production cast and crew.

See UP Rep and UZ Eliserio’s take on religion in a wild EDM flavored musical farce opening this Valentine’s Day! In an old, cheap looking church, a young woman named Juana Donna visits to confess her sins before she gets married. She begs the priest, Damaso and the nuns Karitas and Salve Regina to cleanse her soul so she can regain her virginity back — the most special gift she could give to her groom. After having done all the rituals, she realizes that the rituals change nothing, and Damaso, Karitas and Salve Regina, together with their beliefs and religious ‘powers’ are incapable of helping her.

U Z Eliserio’s KARITAS AT DAMASO is a musical farce that seeks to question and reexamine the role of religion in our ideas and notions about sex, money, sin and love. For an arts festival that showcases different and diverse material, UP Rep’s KARITAS AT DAMASO is sure not to disappoint.

UP Rep’s KARITAS AT DAMASO will open on February 14 (3PM & 7PM) and will continue on the following showdates: February 21 (3PM & 7PM), February 15 & 22 (7PM) and February 20 & 27 (3PM) at The Pineapple Lab, Makati City. For more details you can check out the KxD Event Page, or contact NICOLYN at 09066925606.

Witness how we unravel the stories and lives of the important figures of our society as we interview them and show their real colors in a dazzling talk show in a variety game show setting! Now this is justice with style!

Yugto Theater Ensemble (YTE) is a new independent theater performance company composed of young individuals who see theater as a tool to promote positive change in the society. These individuals came from Mapua Tekno Teatro, the official performing group of Mapua Institute of Technology, who wish to showcase their works outside the walls of the institute. The Ensemble aims to deliver self-reflecting experiences and invoke change to create a new chapter among young Filipinos. Expressing through contemporary theatre, the members shall devise relevant new works and perform significant Filipino literary pieces.

Project Mayheim Productions is a theatre production company composed of young thespians. Aiming to produce shows that would showcase new playwrights and give an avenue for budding and veteran stage performers to share their talents, Project Mayheim will be staging a devised play inspired by the words of John F. Kennedy, WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON. WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON is directed by Fitz Edward Bitaña, an aspiring director from the University of the Philippines and the current Artistic Director of Project Mayheim Productions. It will be a part of Fringe MNL this year.

WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON is a play about those who do not know how to dream, who are lost and those who turn into lunatics within the world of the internet. Using the art of theatre and multimedia mapping, the play’s goal is to showcase different types of formula to reach the height of nirvana and show how they can slowly destroy one’s heart, body, mind and being. The play/material is a compilation of stories of love, sex, relationships, drugs, and many more, centered solely on the inter-net. The story plays around the unlimited parameters of online chatting, pornography, social media and more through the eyes of a variety of mixed personalities and persona.

This will be a collaborative work among the actors and our playwright, Sir Vladimeir Gonzales.